Event round-up: Unlocking workforce efficiency - how technology can empower the NHS

Chaired by Jill De Bene (SmartCo), the discussion featured insights from Heather Cook (Wellmind Health), Michael Watts (Bloom Health), Louise Wall (E18 Innovation), and Kit Rowland (Kahootz). Over the course of the conversation, the panel unpacked the opportunities and challenges of embedding digital solutions into everyday NHS practice, from AI-driven automation to cultural readiness and the importance of storytelling in change.

Building digital confidence and addressing workforce wellbeing

Opening the discussion, Heather Cook drew on over a decade of experience in digital therapeutics to stress that “unless we support our workforce in the adoption of digital technologies… we’re not going to see the change management happening as rapidly as we want.”

She argued that workforce enablement must begin with education, embedding digital literacy within undergraduate training, and continue through supportive implementation. Cook also urged the sector to confront rising sickness absence rates, citing that “the NHS is the UK’s largest employer, yet we’re seeing increasing levels of absenteeism that directly affect productivity.” Technology, she suggested, can be part of the solution, both in predictive management and in providing wellbeing tools that help reduce stress and burnout.

Change management and the power of storytelling

Michael Watts, an NHS clinician and founder of Bloom Health, echoed the need to humanise adoption. He described three principles for digital innovation: keep people out of hospital, reduce their time in hospital, and ensure they never come back.

To achieve this, he argued, leaders must win “hearts and minds” through empathy and effective storytelling: “Change occurs when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.” Adoption, he noted, succeeds when suppliers make new systems feel “less painful” than existing practices and when staff see tangible benefits in their daily work.

Moderator Jill De Bene highlighted that engagement and storytelling remain underestimated aspects of digital transformation, observing that many initiatives fail not for lack of technology, but because “we underestimate the power of storytelling when implementing technology or even trying to procure it.”

Automation, culture, and evidence sharing

From a supplier’s perspective, Louise Wall described how E18 Innovation has helped NHS trusts automate administrative processes using robotic process automation. Far from threatening jobs, she explained, automation can “give staff four hours back a day” by removing repetitive data entry and allowing them to focus on value-adding care.

Wall emphasised that the cultural framing of technology is crucial: “If you get the culture and mindset right from the beginning, people see it as a support, not a threat.” She also underlined the role of community learning: E18 has built a network of over 400 case studies so trusts can share success stories, because, as she put it, “the NHS likes to look and see what the neighbours are doing.”

Breaking down silos and knowledge barriers

Kit Rowland of Kahootz shifted focus to knowledge-sharing and collaboration. As the provider behind the NHS Futures platform, he explained how digital infrastructure can empower staff by making it easier to find and share expertise. “Departments get siloed,” he noted, “and information gets lost, reducing efficiency.” By connecting professionals Future NHS helps avoid duplication and speeds up learning.

For Rowland, workforce transformation is as much about access to knowledge as it is about automation: “If you have a solution that makes something easier and simpler, everyone will want to adopt it.”

Tackling the ‘not invented here’ problem

A recurring challenge, raised by both Cook and Watts, was the duplication of compliance and procurement processes across trust, the so-called “not invented here” syndrome. Cook welcomed the forthcoming Innovative Passport and Compass platform as steps toward “a one-stop shop for buyers” that could ease the burden on SMEs and accelerate cross-regional adoption.

Watts argued for balance between internal innovation and external partnerships: while the NHS must develop digital capability in-house, “there will just come a point where that skill set isn’t available directly within the healthcare system… that’s when they should be calling on industry with open arms.”

Wall agreed, advocating a hybrid model where industry mentors and supports NHS teams rather than replacing them outright. Collaboration, Cook added, should also extend across the supplier base: “Industry should offer far more cohesive, joined-up solutions than just point products.”

A human-centred future for NHS technology

The conversation concluded with a shared recognition that workforce transformation must remain people-centred. Cook warned that without addressing wellbeing and burnout, “we will never be able to release the productivity benefits that technology promises.” Watts added that every innovation must deliver value “at patient, workforce, and service level”—otherwise, adoption will falter.

Wall and Rowland echoed that success depends on empathy, storytelling, and reframing digital projects as enablers rather than impositions. As Sunil summarised, “It’s about engaging everyone so they can see the benefits and understand them.”

Conclusion

The panel closed on a note of collaboration and compassion. Across diverse perspectives, speakers agreed that digital transformation in healthcare is not merely about systems, —’s about people. Technology must lighten workloads, support wellbeing, and be introduced through empathy and partnership.

As Viola Pastorino from techUK concluded, these insights will inform techUK’s ongoing response to the NHS Workforce Plan consultation, continuing the conversation between industry, policymakers, and providers to ensure technology truly unlocks the potential of the NHS workforce.

Viola Pastorino

Junior Programme Manager, Health and Care Team, techUK

Viola Pastorino is a policy, governance, and strategic communication specialist.

She joined techUK as the Junior Programme Manager in the Health and Care Team in April 2024. 

She has obtained a Bachelor of Sciences in Governance, Economics, and Development from Leiden University, and a Master's programme in Strategic Communications at King's College London.  Her academic background, leading up to a dissertation on AI policy influence and hands-on campaign development, is complemented by practical experience in international PR and grassroots project management.

She is skilled in qualitative and quantitative analysis and comfortable communicating findings to varying stakeholders. Above all, she is deeply passionate about the intersection of technology and government, especially how technology and global discourse shape one another, the processes that lead to belief polarisation and radicalisation of communities, and crafting strategic narratives that steer public discourse.

Outside of work she loves reading, live music light operation, and diving.  

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